The
presidential spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu, disclosed this when he
featured on an interactive radio programme, “Hannu Da Yawa” on the
Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, FRCN Kaduna.
The programme was part of activities to commemorate the second anniversary of the Buhari administration.
He
also revealed that the Buhari administration had further directed that
regular monthly remittances be made into the Retirement Benefits Bond
Redemption Fund (RBBRF) with the Central Bank of Nigeria to ensure the
continuity of timely payment of benefits to retirees.
According
to him, under the Buhari administration, the PTAD has saved N5.7
billion through the efficient administration of the pensions of
parastatals and universities.
“In
addition, pension assets increased from N4.96 trillion in June 2015 to
N6.42 trillion as at March, 2017, indicating a growth of over 29
percent.
“The government of President Muhammadu Buhari will continue to ensure the strengthening and accountability of PTAD,’’ the presidential spokesman assured.
Shehu,
who is the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and
Publicity, said the Buhari administration had brought to an end the
series of fraud and scandals around the issue of pensions in Nigeria.
He
said that this feat was achieved by strengthening the Pension
Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD), which had introduced a
number of innovative measures over the past two years.
According to him, one of the measures is the automation of pension payment processes.
Shehu
noted that the Bank Verification Number (BVN) policy had also been
implemented in the pension scheme, with over 103,000 civil service
pensioners verified.
“Pensioner
records have also been digitalised for secure archiving, with thousands
of thousands of old, physical pension folders converted to e-files.
“In
addition, the government of President Buhari has enforced a new level
of commitment to the welfare of pensioners and retirees, with the PTAD
creating an automated and centrally administered complaints management
process with a dedicated call centre that receives and treats over 200
calls on a daily basis,’’ he said.
He stated that in contrast to the past when a record number of pensioners died on queues trying to get their rights, “the new arrangement ensure that the pensioners are attended to with utmost care’’.
He
added that the arrangement had also provided conducive atmosphere for
verification, food and water as well as wheelchairs for those that have
mobility challenges, adding that infirmed pensioners were verified at
their home or hospital.
The Senior
Special Assistant also claimed in the programme that the reform carried
out by the administration in the National Drug Law Environment Agency
(NDLEA), had brought “respect to Nigerian international travelers who now face less harassment at airports in other lands’’.
He
revealed that under the present administration, the NDLEA had seized
more than one million kilogrammes of various drugs, destroyed about
110,000 hectares of drug farms and arrested 17,000 suspected drugs
dealers.
He announced that so far, about 5,000 persons had been convicted in the last two years.
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